DAILY DOSE OF ART

As prescribed by Paulina Constancia

Art à la Warhol (2) – The Pop Portraits

I recently had the privilege of experiencing the  world-debut  of “Andy Warhol 15 Minutes Eternal” at the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands, here in Singapore.


This week I bring you “Art à la Warhol”. We’ll look into key works that give us a window to a particular point in his life and the experiences that brought about that expression. Then, we’ll do art projects to mimic the Warhol style.

Today, I feature Warhol’s Pop Portraits.
ANDY WARHOL
The Turquoise Marilyn (1964)
Some of Andy Warhol’s most famous pieces are colorful portraits of celebrities and cultural icons. He used contrasting, and sometimes unrealistic colors to create these pieces. The portrait of Marylin Monroe is one of Warhol’s 
most recognizable works. (Info Source)
At the age of 8, Warhol contracted Chorea—also known as St. Vitus’s Dance—a rare and sometimes fatal disease of the nervous system that left him bedridden for several months. It was during these months, while Warhol was sick in bed, that his mother, herself a skillful artist, gave him his first drawing lessons. Drawing soon became Warhol’s favorite childhood pastime. He was also an avid fan of the movies, and when his mother bought him a camera at the age of 9 he took up photography as well, developing film in a makeshift darkroom he set up in their basement. (Info Source)

At times when he was confined to bed due to his illness, he drew, listened to the radio and collected pictures of movie stars around his bed. Warhol later described this period as very important in the development of his personality, skill-set and preferences. (Wikipedia)

Andy Warhol’s Childhood Movie Star Scrapbook
Ca. 1938-1941
One of the many autographed movie star photos in Andy’s scrapbook: “To Andrew Warhola,From Shirley Temple”, 1941
Top/Bottom Photo Source: “Andy Warhol 15 Minutes Eternal” exhibition catalogue
Here are some of Andy Warhol’s portraits 
of American icons
Top (L) Jackie Kennedy, (R) Elvis Presley
Bottom (L) Elizabeth Taylor (R) Muhammad Ali

It was during the 1960’s that Warhol began to make paintings of iconic American objects such as dollar bills, mushroom clouds, electric chairs, Campbell’s Soup Cans, Coca-Cola bottles. He also did elebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Marlon Brando, Troy Donahue, Muhammad Ali and Elizabeth Taylor, as well as newspaper headlines or photographs of police dogs attacking civil rights protesters.

Let’s Make Some Pop Portrait Art à la Warhol

A. How to Make Andy Warhol Pop Art Using Photoshop
By Kasey Steinbrinck, eHow Contributor

B. The Warhol: DIY POP app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch


The Warhol: D.I.Y. POP
By Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Check it out on You Tube Create your own digital silkscreen print, just like Andy Warhol would have with the Warhol: D.I.Y. POP app from The Andy Warhol Museum. 

Using your built-in camera or a photo from your library as source material, you’ll learn the Warhol process step by step. Crop. Expose. Underpaint. Share. And print a virtual silkscreen. 
http://www.warhol.org/connect/mobile/

C. Print the Warhol-inspired Image onto a Cotton Tshirt or Canvas Bag. Makes a perfect gift!

Here are a couple of examples of how you can use the à la Warhol Pop Art that you have created. For my sister’s birthday, I created a shirt for every portrait series of her  Lhasa Apsos–Tiffany and Prada. My sister used to live in a neighbourhood called Prestwick Heights so I called her dogs The Prestwick Divas (sounds like a band name, doesn’t it?) Anyway, I printed the diva’s name at the bottom of the shirt and used a t-shirt transfer to print the image on a white cotton shirt. I have also included an image of a canvas bag just to give you an idea how ‘cool’ a gift idea this is.

Andy Warhol

Self-Portrait

“My idea of a good picture is one that’s 
in focus and of a famous person.”
-Andy Warhol-


2 comments on “Art à la Warhol (2) – The Pop Portraits”

  1. Anonymous
    November 6, 2012

    was he gay?

    Reply
  2. Paulina Constancia
    November 9, 2012

    To answer your question..
    According to Wikipedia: “Andy Warhol is also notable as a gay man who lived openly as such before the gay liberation movement. His studio, The Factory, was a famous gathering place that brought together distinguished intellectuals, drag queens, playwrights, Bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities, and wealthy patrons.”
    Info source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol

    Reply

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